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brig

(brĭg)

1. A two-masted sailing vessel, square-rigged on both masts.

2. A jail or prison on board a US Navy or Coast Guard vessel.

3. A jail or guardhouse, especially on the premises of a US military installation.

[Short for BRIGANTINE. Senses 2 and 3, from the use of ships as prisons.]

(click for a larger image)

brig

replica of the 1857 brig

USS Niagara

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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